


Kirkwall Crush

by Taimae



Series: Varric and Hawke Drabbles [1]
Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age II
Genre: Drunken Confessions, Drunken Kissing, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Love Confessions, Rejection
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-04
Updated: 2018-02-04
Packaged: 2019-03-13 13:43:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,785
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13571766
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Taimae/pseuds/Taimae
Summary: Once upon a time, a certain Fereldan refugee may have had a little thing for a certain merchant prince.





	Kirkwall Crush

**Author's Note:**

> The last little friendship prompt I was given had be go back to a one-shot I’ve been working on for a bit. I’ve always love the Hawke/Varric dynamic. Me, like so many others, was crushed when I found out he was and will never be a romance option. I was also bummed that you don’t even get the option to flirt and be rejected (like you could with Vivienne or Aveline). So, this is sort of my answer to that! Happy reading, y’all.

“Do you… like Varric?”

Aerianne fumbled one of the daggers that she’d been flipping in the air. It made a small clinging sound as it fell onto the cobblestone street in front of Gamlen’s house.

“That’s a very odd question,” Aerianne laughed as she bent down to pick the dagger back up and sheathed it. “What brought this on, Beth?” 

Her sister shrugged slightly as reached for the door to open it. Bethany wasn’t really one to gossip or pry. After all, between the three Hawke sibling, she was supposed to be the sweet one. The polite one who never made any ripples. But every now and then, Bethany would throw a question to her older sister that would throw her off balance. Just a little.

“Just thinking aloud I suppose,” Bethany replied, musing a bit. “You do that thing. Where you make-up any reason to go and bother him,”

“What? No I don’t,”

“Well, alright. You do that thing where you play with your ponytail when you’re talking about him,”

“Well, _I_ think that you’ve been reading too many romance novels,” Aerianne grinned and then nudged her sister with her hips, before entering the old house. The two girls laughed as they started to push each other, but the fun quickly ended when they heard the barking of their uncle in the next room over. He was housing them because they were adults who could pay bills, not so that they could act like a bunch of giddy children faffing about.

Bethany wasn’t wrong though.

Maybe Aerianne did have a bit of a thing for the Merchant Prince.

It’d barely been over a year and out of all the people she’d come across in Kirkwall so far, Varric stood out among them. She was a bit suspicious of his intentions at first; how could you not be when a random man you don’t know comes up to you with business proposition that seemed to good to be true? But it wasn’t before long that she and the dwarf quickly became friends. Sure, he could be a bit crude and sarcastic at times, but he was also charming, and personable; and amazing storyteller. She often found herself grabbing a drink with him most nights at the Hanged Man during her nights off. Up until recently, her time in the city was all about paying off debts and not upsetting her uncle. Before that, she was just trying to make ends meet for her family after her father died. To have a normal night out with a friend… she didn’t realize how much she missed it.

“You’ve really never thought of trying to go back to Orzammar?” she asked him.

“Come on, do I look like someone who would enjoy living in a cave, arguing about which ancestor is the best?” Varric scoffed. “Kirkwall has the open skies, exciting stories, walks from every form of life. Not to mention I’d have to grow one of those ridiculous beards if I moved to Orzammar,”

“Can’t have that. It would distract from your chest hair,”

“Ha! I knew you were alright Hawke,” he grinned, knocking his tankard against hers. “Cute and quick with both words and a dagger. Keep that up, and you’ll fit into Kirkwall in no time,”

Varric did more than just give her a business opportunity, he helped her adjust to life in Kirkwall. Despite making a name for herself, Aerianne still had troubles fitting into the cultural fabric of the city, especially in Lowtown. She had to learn that the way you dealt with people in the countryside were far different than how you dealt with them in the city. Politeness and sincerity wasn’t going to cut it; you had to be charming. Quick-witted and talk your way out of any situation. It was something that Varric seemed quite adept at, based on her observations. It was odd how he managed to be the most well liked and most hated man in various circles. Regardless of people’s opinion, he was the Merchant Prince for a reason; he had influence.

    

“Is Varric involved with anyone?” Aerianne once asked Bartrand when she was dropping off some of her sovereign. He laughed so hard that he nearly fell off his chair. Scratch that, he actually _did_ fall off his chair and just continued to howl like an overexcited mabari. She never got an answer out of him, but she took a positive sign.

Varric seem to be the type that would have more than his fair share of fun with women. He had a surprising way with words, making meekest of housemaids to the jaded of rich-divorcees blush.  But from what she could tell he had no one serious in his life. Was he even the type to have anyone serious in his life? She suddenly felt a little bit naïve. He was older than her, certainly more experienced. How does one exactly pursue a man like Varric? Despite being the one to reach out for business prospects, he seemed to be the type who would rather be approached by women rather than the other way around. Kirkwall women were just so bold. Or was this just city women in general?

Regardless, she was a Kirkwall woman now. She had to start acting like one.

 

It was one night at the docks, where they decided for a change of pace from the Hanged Man. If the docks didn’t have shading dealings going on in the shadows and they were drinking something more than the cheap whiskey straight out the bottle, this might’ve been romantic.

“Maker, it burns,” she coughed, passing the bottle back to Varric. “That’s it, I’m choosing the bottle next time,”

“Hawke, at this price, they’re all gonna taste the same,” he laughed as he took a swig. “I told you we could split it,”

“You can’t keep covering for me. The first thing I’m going to if we make it big from this expedition is buy us some proper alcohol. One that doesn’t taste like moldy woodchips,”

“Speaking of which. I’ve got a couple of new leads for you to get some of that sovereign. I think you’ll like these ones. For real this time,”

“The last time you said that, Bethany, Aveline and I were getting you out of one YOUR messes,” she nudged him slightly. “I only got a few coins from that!”

“Okay, so maybe a few of my leads haven’t been perfect, but I swear to you on Andraste’s golden knickers, Hawke, these ones are good. We’ve got grey wardens, we’ve got pirates, mysterious disappearances, adventure… everything a budding hero like yourself could want,”

“Hero? Since when?” she shook her head with a long sigh, taking the bottle back from Varric’s hand and gulping some more down. It still tasted awful, but at least it was going down easier.

“Come on, Hawke. If you actually charged for half the problems that you solve in this city, you’d have the fifty sovereigns by now,” he shrugged slightly. “You’re too good for this place,”   

“You always say that,” she rested her chin on the palm of her hand, finally feeling the buzz of the terrible alcohol.

“Eh, what can I say. I like you, Hawke,” 

A smile formed on the young woman’s face. This was it; this was the moment that she had been waiting for.

“I like you too, Varric,”

“Aw, stop. You’re gonna make me blush. And not just because of the alcohol,”

Varric began to laugh, but it was quickly interrupted by Aerianne’s lips planted firmly on his. He first tasted of the bitter, strong liquor (it really was the last time they were getting that brand), but it didn’t take long before it disappeared. Though, there was something that she felt was odd about the kiss. They were supposed to have a give and receive quality to them. And by the Maker, she was certainly giving, but she was receiving nothing. She always expected Varric to be better at this.

Unless of course…

“Uh…” she heard Varric said hesitantly, as they parted lips.

She opened her eyes and looked at the dwarf’s expression. Not one of desire and wanting, but instead of drunken confusion.

And then it clicked.

Oh.

Oh no.

“Oh, you meant as a-”

“And you meant it as-”

Aerianne quickly pushed herself away, her hands quickly clutching at the ends of her ponytail as she looked at him, slightly mortified. “I am SO sorry Varric,”

“There are worse things than to be kissed by a pretty girl. Especially like that,” he then cleared his throat, turning his head. “Well… shit,”

“Well shit is right,” Aerianne winced and groaned. This was not how she planned for things to go at all. Like is such a vague word, especially when you’re not fully sober. Embarrassment didn’t even begin to cover what she was feeling right now. What does one do when you kiss someone that wasn’t interested? Send them a fruit basket apology? She didn’t have that kind of money.

Varric finally turned to face Aerianne again. He looked weirdly apologetic, which she didn’t quite understand.

“You’re one of a kind of kind, Hawke. I hope you know that,” he said, patting her firmly on the shoulder. “You’re funny, smart, and tough. Not to mention very easy on the eyes,”

“You don’t have to let me down easy,” she replied. It stung… but it was best to know sooner rather than later. And she’d much rather this go over quickly so that she could erase this whole encounter from her mind as soon as possible.

“I’m just being honest. You really are a great girl. But the thing with me and great girls… well…”

“You end up naming your crossbow after them?”

He made a clicking noise and made a trigger motion at her. “Nothing gets past you,”

The young woman laughed and shook her head. Well, at least she got one thing right. “I’m sorry. Again. I didn’t mean to make things odd,”

“Eh, I’ve had weirder,” he said looking back off at the docks. “Look, I don’t think that I could ever give you want you would need in that kind of relationship. But as a friend, I’ll always have your back. You can count on that. You know, if you’ll still have me as one,”   

A small smile appeared on her face. There was something reassuring about that. She’d only known him for a short while, but it felt like she’d known him all his life. He was familiar and comfortable. He made her feel normal.

He was a friend.

“Yeah,” she said, leaning on his shoulder and closing her eyes. “I’d like that,”


End file.
